plan. save. organize.

Budgeting Your Best Year Yet

January 14, 2016

Having a pocket-friendly year requires you to plan, save and organize your money well. Give these finance-saavy tips a try this year and watch your savings grow.

Write out your financial goals: Knowing what you’re saving for every month will stop you from deviating from your spending plan. Try writing out categories such as “Savings”, “Fun”, “Vacation”, and “Debt”. Including a category for “fun” helps you stay on track with your savings plan and control frivolous spending. There’s no need to reach into your general savings pot for something you want when you can use money you’ve already specifically allocated for “wants”.

Make a rainy day fund and plan to contribute each month: This is completely separate from your core savings goals. You don’t want to touch this account at all unless you absolutely have to. Make sure to keep it in a liquid account such as a savings account with high interest.

Figure out how much money is going towards each goal every month (and lock it in for the rest of the year): This is the most important step! Don’t go in and tweak the amount of money going into the particular goals unless you absolutely have no other choice. If you’re putting aside $100 every month for savings, don’t shift it to “vacation” just because you want to hit your goal faster. Self discipline is important as we move towards a financially happy year!